If you have a spare Windows license to hand though, it makes more sense to buy the Linux model for the bigger flash drive. The BIOS can be configured to make the 16Gb flash drive the primary drive and that will comfortably hold Windows, the swap file, hibernation file and any applications that take your fancy – and still leave the 4Gb SSD for your documents.

As with the 701 mode, installing Windows on the 900 is a breeze – you’ll need an external optical drive, of course, but Asus supplies a CD with all the necessary Windows drivers.

But before you reach for that Windows install CD, it is worth giving Xandros Linux a chance (the kernel is 2.6.21.4-eeepc, if you're interested). As on the 701, the Eee PC 901 operating system has a simple tabbed layout that groups the bounty of bundled applications and while you’re obviously stuck if you need to run Outlook, there’s really little else that’s lacking.

Rather than list the pre-installed applications, we’ll let the screenshots show you how they break down. One point to note, however, is that the office suite is OpenOffice.org 2.0 and this will handle most Microsoft Office document formats, albeit with a one or two issues. You can also flip Xandros into a more traditional ‘advanced mode’ if you find the friendly interface a little too simplistic.

Asus has stated that the Eee PC 900 would use the new Intel Atom processor, but unfortunately, that chip isn’t available yet. An Atom-equipped model will appear later this year but until then, the 900 has the same 900MHz Intel Celeron M processor as the Eee PC 701.

It’s none the worse for it, of course, and until Intel’s new chip appears, it’s impossible to know what the 900 is missing. The Celeron M chip is more than sufficient for running both Linux and Windows XP smoothly though – and the extra RAM also helps, of course.

Battery life hasn’t changed dramatically and the Eee PC 900 lasted just 10 minutes less than the 701. Our review model came with a 4400mAh battery, though – the final production model will come with a higher capacity cell (though Asus isn’t sure what just yet, we suspect it will be 5400mAh).

The power supply has changed with the Eee PC 900, too. Gone is the small plug adapter and there’s now a traditional two-cable brick. It’s still tiny though, and will slip into a bag or pocket with ease.

The Eee PC 900 goes is on sale from 1 May and both Linux and Windows models are expected to cost £329 inc VAT (the price may drop between now and then).

Like the Eee PC 701 before it, the Eee PC 900 represents great value for money – though the £100 price increase makes it less of an impulse purchase (and yes we know a full-size laptop costs only a little more, but that’s missing the point). If the small screen and limited storage were the only things to put you off the 701, the 900 offers everything you’ll need, but we’re going to temper our praise just a little.

When it was launched, the 701 was the only ultra-portable of its kind that was commercially available, but the market isn’t quite so barren now. The Packard Bell/Evernote attempt may have been a bit of a misfire, but with HP about to launch its Mini-Note 2133 and Dell purportedly working on a cheap ultra-portable of its own, the Eee PC 900 isn’t the same easy choice as its predecessor.

Yes, we like it a lot, but if you can hang on a month or two, we’d advise you to keep your wallet closed until the competition comes to market. At best, you might end up with a better ultra-portable – at worse, you may be in time for an Eee PC with an Atom processor (not to mention a lower price).

Asus Eee PC 900

Specifications

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